The Sunny cut across open waters at full speed, its sails strained against a strong tailwind. Behind them, the horizon boiled with black clouds, the distant flashes of lightning revealing the shifting silhouette of something enormous moving just beneath the waves.
Signs of the Chase
Nami's eyes never left the storm on their wake.
"It's not a natural system — it's following our exact course."
Jinbe's voice was grim.
"The Serpent's too big to surface here… but its Heralds can strike anywhere."
Lyra shivered.
"That storm isn't just weather. It's… singing."
The low, steady hum rolled across the sea like the beat of a war drum — the Serpent's own rhythm, growing louder.
The First Wave
Without warning, the ocean erupted. A massive, scaled creature burst from the depths — not the Serpent itself, but a draconic beast with glowing sigils etched into its hide. Atop its head stood a Herald in black armor streaked with silver, a long spear crackling with energy.
"Flamebearer!" the Herald shouted, their voice cutting through the wind."Hand over the verses, or the sea becomes your grave!"
Cannon fire from Franky's weapons roared in response, striking the beast's side. The Sunny lurched as the monster slammed the water, sending a wave over the deck.
Fighting at Full Sail
Zoro leapt onto the creature's neck, cutting deep into the armored scales, while Sanji launched himself high into the air, kicking the Herald directly. Jinbe took the wheel as Nami and Brook worked to keep the ship from being capsized.
The Herald countered with a strike of their spear into the ocean itself, sending a shockwave of water blades slicing toward the Sunny. Robin's powers wrapped around the deck, forming shields of intertwined limbs to block the worst of it.
The Second Wave Arrives
Before they could finish the first Herald, the sea split again — this time revealing a vessel unlike any they had seen, a sleek black warship cutting through the water without sails or visible engines. Its prow was shaped like the Serpent's head, and at its helm stood another Herald, this one cloaked in crimson and gold.
Nami cursed under her breath.
"Two Heralds at once. They're not holding back anymore."
Arkan's Move
Arkan closed his eyes briefly, feeling the rhythms from each verse they'd collected. The Song's beats interwove in his mind — magma's heavy pulse, ice's still cadence, jungle's slow rise, wind's rapid snap, storm's chaotic strikes, and dawn's shifting balance.
He exhaled, letting them merge into a single tempo, then unleashed a wave of golden fire in perfect time with the Serpent's own rhythm — but slightly ahead, forcing the pursuing Heralds to react instead of attack.
The draconic beast recoiled, the warship slowing just enough for the Sunny to gain distance.
The Storm Tightens
But the black clouds behind them only grew larger, and now shapes moved within them — dozens of silhouettes, each as big as a ship.
Robin's voice was low, almost a whisper.
"The Serpent isn't sending scouts anymore… it's sending its army."
Arkan gripped the rail, eyes on the nearest constellation point ahead.
"Then we reach the next verse before the army reaches us."
Final Scene
The Sunny plunged forward into uncharted waters, the golden Dawn orb glowing brighter in Arkan's hand. Behind them, the Serpent's Heralds regrouped, their warship turning in perfect unison with the storm's advance.
The hunt had truly begun.